In April School Board members Martha Ross and Lynn Costic attended the National School Board Association annual conference, which was held at the Hilton San Fransisco, Union Square.
Controversy abounds, since the money came from the Education Fund before being approved by the full Board. Now the question is should Costic and Ross have to pay the $5,000 in travel expenses back to the District (i.e. taxpayer)?
Would the public be wrong in assuming that Ross should have known better, given that she has been on the Board continuously for what the pjstar terms "nearly a decade"? Shouldn't she be a wonderful mentor for the recently appointed Costic to learn from?
I must admit, it is somewhat surprising that after being on the Board for so long, that this makes Ross appear that she does not know the ins and outs of School Board Policy. Surely, they go over these type of things in School Board Training - right?
Does this decision mean that they will also review the recent approval by the Board to allow Butler and Wolfmeyer to travel to DC? Most believe they should have not been able to vote for their own travel request and should have abstained. I believe the vote should be revisited.
District 150 board will review travel policy after violation.
The Peoria District 150 School Board will review procedures this summer after technically violating its own travel policy earlier this year.
In April, board members Martha Ross and M. Lynne Costic went to the National School Board Association's annual conference in San Francisco without the travel request going to the board for approval.
The district made the travel arrangements, but other board members did not learn about the travel until about a week prior.
Ross, who has been on the School Board nearly a decade, maintained she believed the board did not need to vote on board travel that was specifically for School Board training, saying Tuesday that "normally, board travel never had to before."
Costic, who joined the board in January, said she was not aware of the policy.
School Board policy notes "board members should seek pre-approval of expenses, except in situations when the expense is diminutive."
Also, when nearly all the School Board traveled to Chicago in November for annual conference of the Illinois Association of School Boards, the board voted on the travel request.
The cost of the trip to California for Ross and Costic was about $5,000.
The technicality resurfaced last month with a travel request. Board President Debbie Wolfmeyer and board Vice President Linda Butler brought to the board a request that they and Superintendent Grenita Lathan go to Washington, D.C., at the invitation of U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock, R-Peoria.
That travel request, at a cost of about $7,500 for all three, barely passed, by a 4-3 vote. Ross, Jim Stowell and Laura Petelle voted no.
Ross said she voted against the Washington, D.C., travel because she didn't see it as an instructional benefit for a School Board member. "I didn't necessarily see it as board training," Ross said, but added, "I'm sure it is educational to some degree."
Stowell said he didn't believe the money should come from the Education Fund and that another funding source should have been sought.
Would the public be wrong in assuming that Ross should have known better, given that she has been on the Board continuously for what the pjstar terms "nearly a decade"? Shouldn't she be a wonderful mentor for the recently appointed Costic to learn from?
I must admit, it is somewhat surprising that after being on the Board for so long, that this makes Ross appear that she does not know the ins and outs of School Board Policy. Surely, they go over these type of things in School Board Training - right?
Does this decision mean that they will also review the recent approval by the Board to allow Butler and Wolfmeyer to travel to DC? Most believe they should have not been able to vote for their own travel request and should have abstained. I believe the vote should be revisited.
District 150 board will review travel policy after violation.
The Peoria District 150 School Board will review procedures this summer after technically violating its own travel policy earlier this year.
In April, board members Martha Ross and M. Lynne Costic went to the National School Board Association's annual conference in San Francisco without the travel request going to the board for approval.
The district made the travel arrangements, but other board members did not learn about the travel until about a week prior.
Ross, who has been on the School Board nearly a decade, maintained she believed the board did not need to vote on board travel that was specifically for School Board training, saying Tuesday that "normally, board travel never had to before."
Costic, who joined the board in January, said she was not aware of the policy.
School Board policy notes "board members should seek pre-approval of expenses, except in situations when the expense is diminutive."
Also, when nearly all the School Board traveled to Chicago in November for annual conference of the Illinois Association of School Boards, the board voted on the travel request.
The cost of the trip to California for Ross and Costic was about $5,000.
The technicality resurfaced last month with a travel request. Board President Debbie Wolfmeyer and board Vice President Linda Butler brought to the board a request that they and Superintendent Grenita Lathan go to Washington, D.C., at the invitation of U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock, R-Peoria.
That travel request, at a cost of about $7,500 for all three, barely passed, by a 4-3 vote. Ross, Jim Stowell and Laura Petelle voted no.
Ross said she voted against the Washington, D.C., travel because she didn't see it as an instructional benefit for a School Board member. "I didn't necessarily see it as board training," Ross said, but added, "I'm sure it is educational to some degree."
Stowell said he didn't believe the money should come from the Education Fund and that another funding source should have been sought.